Gavin Newsom, Taking Over Where Spitzer Left Off

<div class="image"><img alt="Newsom" src="http://www.nymag.com/images/2/daily/intel/07/11/14_hillarygavin_sm.jpg"/></div><br>When Eliot Spitzer announced this morning that he was dropping his driver's-licenses-for-illegal-immigrants proposal, you would think that Hillary Clinton heaved a sigh of relief. After all, now no one would have an excuse to try and pin down her stance on the issue, like they did so excruciatingly in the October 3 Democratic debate. See, Hillary supported <i>Spitzer</i>, and his "efforts," she has <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--immigrantdrivers1031oct31,0,5599526.story">tried to clarify</a>, but if she were president, she'd make it so that all of that was unnecessary. Of course she caught tremendous flack for being too political and not giving a precise answer about the topic, which amounted to her first serious stumble of the campaign. (Clinton wouldn't sell out her friend and ally Spitzer by undermining his plan but also couldn't come out strongly in favor of it, knowing full well it was a giant target for Republican terror rhetoric.) But now it's over, right? Wrong. Just yesterday, as Spitzer began spreading the news that he was dropping his case, over in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom was helping to pass very similar legislation. The West Coast city will begin issuing I.D.'s to everyone, including those in the U.S. illegally, so that people can better open bank accounts, get insurance, and access law enforcement. Gavin Newsom, of course, is a pal and <a href="http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=2823">California co-chair</a> of Hillary's campaign. So if Republican critics (and Democrat opponents) want to keep tearing at her for her flimsy position on the issue, well, they have another excuse. Man, Hillary's the last person in this campaign who we thought would get in trouble because of all her <i>friends</i>.
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/14/BAB9TBP5H.DTL">S.F. supervisors approve ID cards for residents</a> [San Francisco Chronicle]

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She did see this one coming.Photo: AP

When Eliot Spitzer announced this morning that he was dropping his driver's-licenses-for-illegal-immigrants proposal, you would think that Hillary Clinton heaved a sigh of relief. After all, now no one would have an excuse to try and pin down her stance on the issue, like they did so excruciatingly in the October 3 Democratic debate. See, Hillary supported Spitzer, and his "efforts," she has tried to clarify, but if she were president, she'd make it so that all of that was unnecessary. Of course she caught tremendous flack for being too political and not giving a precise answer about the topic, which amounted to her first serious stumble of the campaign. (Clinton wouldn't sell out her friend and ally Spitzer by undermining his plan but also couldn't come out strongly in favor of it, knowing full well it was a giant target for Republican terror rhetoric.) But now it's over, right? Wrong. Just yesterday, as Spitzer began spreading the news that he was dropping his case, over in San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom was helping to pass very similar legislation. The West Coast city will begin issuing I.D.'s to everyone, including those in the U.S. illegally, so that people can better open bank accounts, get insurance, and access law enforcement. Gavin Newsom, of course, is a pal and California co-chair of Hillary's campaign. So if Republican critics (and Democrat opponents) want to keep tearing at her for her flimsy position on the issue, well, they have another excuse. Man, Hillary's the last person in this campaign who we thought would get in trouble because of all her friends.